


Why Get a Pet When Your Girlfriend's a Werewolf?

by Caisin



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-28
Updated: 2013-01-28
Packaged: 2017-11-27 08:03:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/659671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caisin/pseuds/Caisin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dating a werewolf sometimes puts Belle in situations she had never imagined she might find herself, like having a serious discussion about doggy doors.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Why Get a Pet When Your Girlfriend's a Werewolf?

“I’ve been thinking,” Ruby said, late one night as she and Belle lay, naked limbs entwined, in Belle’s bed above the library. Belle gave her a look that plainly said how impressed she was at the notion, but Ruby decided to be the better person for once and refrained from pushing her lover out of bed. “I’m always out so late during Wolfstime, but you’re always there to let my furry ass in even though you should be sleeping.”

“I feel it’s only right,” Belle interrupted with an indulging smile, “seeing as your ‘furry arse’ doesn’t have opposable thumbs.”

That earned Belle a gentle shove, or as good as Ruby could manage while they were wrapped up so close, and an affronted look.

“What I was going to say, before my girlfriend decided to be a smart ass,” she all but stuck her tongue out, knowing from experience that that never ended well around Belle, “was that, to let you sleep like a normal person, perhaps we should install a doggy door in the library?”

Belle let out a burst of giggles before she was able to hide her face in Ruby's shoulder to stifle them.

"It's not that funny," Ruby said dryly, but she couldn't help a wide grin at the tickle of Belle's lips twitching against her skin.

She felt Belle shake her head, but could tell that her lover was still trying to keep from laughing.

"I'm not sure why I find it so amusing," Belle said, her voice muffled by Ruby's shoulder.

Ruby pulled her even closer into her side and pressed a light kiss into her hair. So much of Storybrooke saw Belle as the stern librarian, nose always in a book, but it hadn't taken long for her more ridiculous side to come out around Ruby. The part of her that let Ruby experiment in the kitchen and greeted each new creation with a look of genuine excitement, or start tickle fights (even though she knew she would always lose), or have giggle attacks at random things. Ruby adored this side of her, even if it was a little... odd.

"Sweetheart, you think it's amusing because you've gotten five hours of sleep in the last three days!"

Belle looked up at her then, and Ruby was in constant amazement at how Belle was the one in this relationship who had the best puppy eyes.

"Which is why I think it might be best to find a way for me to get back into the library without you staying up worrying about me."

"I would be up worrying about you anyway."

Ruby felt her insides flutter and fought the urge to nuzzle into her lover's hair.

"It's not as if I’m just sat around all night doing nothing. Well, I’ve been reading a lot but it's..." she paused and looked at Ruby out of the corner of her eye, her lips pursed. "It's difficult to explain."

"Try me."

"I've been reading a lot of things that remind me of you. Of the wolf part of you," she started slowly, her brow knit together as she chose her words carefully, worried they would be incomprehensible to the woman at her side. "I feel as if it allows me to know her better, that it is the closest I can come to understanding how you might feel during Wolfstime. I suppose it’s a way to let me be with you, sort of? When I wouldn’t be able to be with you otherwise…"

Ruby could see Belle becoming flustered, so she lifted up her chin to kiss her chastely on the lips. When she pulled back, her smile was heartwarming.

"That's a lot of reading time, surely there can't be that many books to read."

"Well, it's Jack London mostly," Belle admitted. "But there's a surprising amount of children's literature about wolves. And last month I read the Born Free series, which is about lions, but still informative!"

The way Belle read her books was not quite the same as anyone else Ruby knew, so she could understand a little of how Belle might be able to experience her life from the safety of her favorite comfy old chair in the corner of her room. She watched as her lover’s eyes began to get that far off look she had come to know so well.

“Last week, I found a book about two women who trained sled dogs and ran the Iditarod. It seemed rather serendipitous that this particular book should find me just as the first snow began to fall here, and right before Wolfstime no less, so I couldn’t help but dive into it!”

Ruby let herself fall into the trance she was so often led by Belle’s words as she described each of her book adventures. Perhaps this was its own kind of magic, she thought, that allowed Belle to lead her through all the different worlds bound in her favorite books. Belle’s voice swept her up in the slowly building passion between two women as they found themselves alone in the desolation of an Alaskan winter with only their dogs as company. The only sound the crunch of sled blades and booty-covered paws in the snow, and the labored breathing of the dogs as they fought against the Arctic wind that bit through their thick fur.

As Belle wove her tale, Ruby was drawn ever closer, attempting to snuggle close against her body’s memory of the chill from the night before, until she had burrowed her face into Belle's hair without realizing. She let herself get overwhelmed by Belle's scent; the musty smell of pages and ink and old leather, and the excitement they built inside Belle that made her glow. All the things that reminded her of here, of home and the safety of Belle’s arms; the things that made her human. She let Belle’s warmth envelope her in a way that even the down comforter around them failed to do. It made Ruby hum with pleasure into Belle’s neck.

Still clutched tightly in Ruby's arms, Belle’s story was forgotten as she wriggled and laughed against her lover, experiencing an entirely different kind of excitement than what her books gave her. Well, most of them.

“So, you… like staying up to wait for me?” Ruby asked from Belle’s neck. Still unsure. Always so full of doubt that Belle could really love the beast she became once a month.

She untangled herself from Belle until she was resting on her elbow and looking into her girlfriend’s deep blue eyes. Her lips twitched into a soft, sweet smile, tentative until Belle matched it.

“Of course, you silly cub!” Belle said with a laugh after a moment, pulling Ruby out of her sulky mood and down into a kiss.

Belle had called Ruby a puppy once, very early in their relationship, and it had earned her a growl that might have frightened her if she hadn’t been so confident that Ruby’s bark was far worse than her bite. That, indeed, it took a fair bit of coaxing to get Ruby to bite her even gently when she wanted it. Still, she hadn’t called Ruby “puppy” once since.

“But I still think a doggy door would be a good idea.”

Belle rolled her eyes and tried not to pout as her kiss was broken short.

“There could be times when you’re not around or… or maybe you’re feeling ill and would rather not have to let me in.” Ruby was grasping at straws, she knew, and she could always sleep out in the woods as she’d always done in the Enchanted Forest, but she would feel much better if she knew that she wasn’t entirely dependent on Belle. “Or I could be in trouble and need to get inside in a hurry!”

“Would it be entirely safe?” Belle asked, suddenly serious. Ruby looked bemused at what her question might be implying. “For wolf you to access the library so easily, I mean.”

“I have complete control over the wolf, Belle, you know that.”

“This is a particularly magical place though, what if something happened?”

“You’re worried that I might lose control of the wolf and be able to get inside and –“

“And eat all the books!” Belle said in a harsh whisper.

Ruby eyed her lover critically. After a moment of very charged silence, she pressed the back of a hand against Belle’s forehead to make sure she hadn’t suddenly developed a severe fever, or something.

“Belle, you do realize that wolves don’t actually _eat_ books… right?”

“Well, not ingest them, no. Obviously.” Belle mirrored Ruby’s look, as if the werewolf was clearly the one who needed her head checked for thinking Belle would come up with such an outrageous idea. “But wolves _are_ notoriously destructive, you must admit.”

“So your biggest worry, should the wolf ever get the better of me, is that I would destroy your library.”

Belle nodded slowly, biting her lower lip and looking at Ruby through thick lashes. The sight made Ruby melt.

Not being able to help herself any longer, Ruby dipped down her head to kiss Belle on the nose, chuckling as Belle scrunched up her face at the show of affection.

“And to think people find you strange,” Ruby said, giving her another kiss to take away the sting of being teased. The kiss was long and tender and full of love, telling Belle that she did not care what anyone in Storybrooke thought of her; to Ruby, she was perfect.

“It’s one of life’s great mysteries,” Belle said in a breathless giggle, playing along as Ruby kissed up her jaw. Belle’s laugh became more pronounced as Ruby once again buried her face in the brown hair that splayed across the pillows.

“I love your oddness.”

Belle’s smile softened after Ruby’s deep yawn blew warm air against her ear and ruffled her hair. She wrapped Ruby up in her arms as the werewolf snuggled close to her, curling herself around Belle with a contented sigh.

“Once it gets a bit warmer, we can set up camp during Wolfstime and you’ll get an even better feel for the wolf life,” Ruby said, and Belle could feel her smile against her shoulder. Still, she wrinkled her nose at the idea. She knew that Ruby had often slept in the wild whilst she lived in the Enchanted Forest, and even for the first few times that she’d changed since the curse was lifted, before she and Belle had started dating. But Belle had also done her fair share of roughing it in the woods, and she would choose a nice cup of tea, a comfy chair and her books over a night in a tent any day.

“I love you dearly, but I think I’d much prefer our warm, cozy beds to hard forest floor, thank you.”

She kissed Ruby lightly on top of the head, hoping that hadn’t sounded too much like rejection. Though she supposed it was, a bit. A lady had to draw the line somewhere however, and she had gone through a lot to get the deliciously wonderful bed she now slept in.

“I’ll build us a cabin,” Ruby said. Her words had begun to slur slightly in that sleepy way, and Belle could tell from her steady breath and the way her fingers pawed distractedly on Belle’s bare stomach that she was nodding off. “It will have the softest bed you’ve ever dreamed of, with piles of blankets and pillows. With a big fireplace, and a sheepskin rug in front of it for me to curl up on. And I’ll make you a reading nook with a window seat, and you can start your own private library…”

“Well, you certainly know how to win a girl’s heart,” Belle said, stifling a yawn of her own. Three nights of little sleep were bound to take their toll and Belle contemplated whether they might want to start finding time to nap during the day.

Ruby looked up at her, eyes closed and lips curled up in a smug smile, eagerly awaiting the kiss she knew she’d earned. Belle did not disappoint, though it was a short, sleepy kiss.

“But first, I shall install a doggy door in the library,” she said resolutely, as if announcing a grand proclamation.

In her mind, Ruby had even nodded her head with great distinction, to make sure Belle was aware of just how determined she was to see this plan of hers through. In truth, she had merely rested her head once more on Belle’s shoulder and fallen promptly asleep before her perplexed lover even had the chance to get in one last laugh at her expense.

**Author's Note:**

> The section written about the dog mushers was inspired by a novel called _Broken Trails_ by D Jordan Redhawk, which you can learn more about [ here](http://www.djordanredhawk.net/published/broken-trails/) and [ here](http://www.djordanredhawk.net/iditarod/iditaone.htm)


End file.
